National Junior College (NJC) (Simplified Chinese: 国家初级学院) is the first Junior College to be established in Singapore. First established in 1969, National Junior College offers a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level. The college subsequently introduced the four-year Integrated Programme in 2004, which was later expanded to a six-year Integrated Programme in 2009. Its campus in Bukit Timah houses both the junior high and senior high sections of the school, as well as a boarding school.
History[]
Then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew announced in May 1965 that "super secondary boarding school" would be built to cater to the top students in Singapore. This was subsequently followed by an announcement in December 1965 by then Minister for Education Ong Pang Boon that the "junior college" system would be established in order to optimise the use of teachers and laboratory facilities and to create more school places for pre-university students.[1]
In keeping with its name and philosophy, the College claims no affiliation with any secondary school but instead draws its students from a wide spectrum. In addition, Singapore students learn alongside students from India, China, Hong Kong, Korea as well as ASEAN countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. NJC also plays host to German, PRC, Taiwanese, Vietnamese and Japanese students in exchange programmes.
Milestones[]
| 1968: Application to the college was open. |
| 1969: 574 students made up the pioneer batch in 1969. |
| 1970: The campus at Linden Drive was declared open by then-Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew. |
| 1971: The college pioneered the integration of the four educational streams at post-secondary school level. |
| 1971: For the only time in history, seven Presidents' Scholars were selected from the college. |
| 1979: The NJC Alumni was established. |
| 1980: The NJC Alumni Bursary Fund was set up for needy NJCians. |
| 1980: First college to introduce Computer Science as an A- level subject. First intake of 49 students. |
| 1982: Taiwan Immersion Programme was launched, with the college as one of the five participating schools. |
| 1984: 30 students and six teachers embarked on a 20-day trekking trip to the Himalayas. |
| 1985: The Art Elective Programme (Singapore) was introduced.. |
| 1987: The Humanities Programme was introduced. |
| 1992: The Language Elective Programme (German) was introduced. |
| 1997: NJC moved from its former campus at Linden Drive to the present campus at Hillcrest Road. |
| 1998: The House System, comprising 'Aerius', 'Aqua', 'Ignis', 'Lignum', 'Solaris', and 'Terra' was introduced. |
| 2002: The college is accorded the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew National Education Award. |
| 2004: The four-year Integrated Programme was established. |
| 2005: NJC was accorded the School Distinction Award. |
| 2008: NJC was accorded the School Excellence Award. |
| 2009: The Boarding School was officially opened. The Integrated Programme was prolonged to a six-year programme with enhanced boarding. |
Campus[]
The atrium of National Junior College
Work started on National Junior College's campus in September 1967.[2] Located at the junction of Linden Road and Dunearn Road, the campus was completed in less than 15 months.[2] In total, this campus cost SGD$1.6 million to build.[2] When the campus was completed, it contained an audiovisual lab, 10 science laboratories, a library, two lecture theatres, 30 classrooms, nice tutorial rooms, an assembly hall, a canteen, an administrative block and some other activity rooms.[2] National Junior College utilized this campus until 1997, when it shifted to its present location at Hillcrest Road.[3]
The current campus of National Junior College is located at 37 Hillcrest Road in Bukit Timah.[2] This current campus houses 2 500-seat lecture theaters, 2 smaller lecture theaters, 3 blocks of tutorial classrooms and 3 IT facilities.[4] It also contains 3 Sigma labs, which are equipped with sophisticated scientific instruments and equipment in order to promote science research in the college.[4] The college has a dedicated art block as part of the Art Elective Programme (Singapore) (AEP).[5] This Art Centre contains facilities such as a 3-dimensional work-pottery-sculpture studio, a drawing and painting studio, a pottery kiln room, and a photography darkroom to enable students in the AEP to experiment with different art media.[5]
Boarding School[]
At the 2007 Ministry of Education Workplan Seminar, it was announced that 5 schools, including National Junior College, will each start their own boarding programme.[6] Thus, National Junior College's boarding school was constructed to cater to the new programme and it was officially opened on 16 May 2009.[7] Built at a cost of SGD$20 million, this boarding school has 250 rooms housing around 500 students and teachers.[8] In addition to housing foreign students which makes up half of the boarding school population,[4] it also houses students who are participating the college's enhance boarding programme.[8]
Academics[]
NJC offers three education routes that lead to the GCE ‘A’ Level examinations: Only 6 years programme offered
- 6 year Integrated Programme (Grades 7 to 12)
- 2 year JC Programme (Grades 11 to 12)
Students who are admitted to the NJC Integrated Programme (at Junior High 1 and 3 level) will skip the GCE ‘O’ Level and take the GCE ‘A’ Level examinations at the end of their sixth or fourth year in NJC.
Students who are admitted to NJC JC Programme (at Senior High 1 level) must have taken their GCE ‘O’ Levels examinations or equivalent. They will take the GCE ‘A’ Level examinations at the end of their second year in NJC.
Special Programmes[]
Various special programmes are also offered in addition to the standard school curriculum in the college. These include the Art Elective Programme, Science Training and Research (STaR) Programme and the Humanities Programme.[2] Such programmes aim to develop student interest in academic and non-academic fields beyond their chosen field of academic studies.
National Junior College was the first school to offer the Art Elective Programme (AEP) in 1985 to allow student with a passion in Art to develop their talents.[2] Under this programme, the college also provides specialised facilities to allow students to experiment with different art media.[5] At the end of this programme, students are expected to sit for Art as a subject at the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level at both the Higher 2 and Higher 3 levels.[9] The college was also one of the six college to pioneer the Humanities Programme scheme in 1987,[1] a scheme by Singapore's Ministry of Education to encourage students to pursue the study of humanities at the pre-university level.[10] In 1992, German was introduced as a subject for the first time in a junior college under the Language Elective Programme.[1]
Other special programmes offered by the college include:
- Science Training and Research (STaR) Programme, a Science research programme.[11] Students get to conduct their research together with the college's local and international science research partners, such as A*Star and the Korea Science Academy of KAIST. Senior High students can also participate in the NUS-A*STaR-NJC Science Research programme, where their work will be assessed by the National University of Singapore and will count as a Higher 3 credit at the Singapore-Cambridge GCE Advanced Level examinations.[11]
- Advanced Inquiry in Mathematics (AIM) Programme, a math enrichment programme.[12] This programme allows students with an interest and strong ability in mathematics to participate in additional enrichment programmes during their Senior High Year 1.[12]
Enhanced Boarding Programme[]
The National Junior College's boarding programme was launched in 2009 together with the opening of the boarding school.[8] Under this programme, students stay in the boarding school for around one school term (10 weeks).[8] Students also participate in the various activities planned during their stay.[8] Such programmes include aesthetics programmes, leadership development programmes and night adventures.[13] Since 2009, all Integrated Programme students from the college have participated in this programme.[8]
School culture[]
Uniform[]
The uniform for male students is a shirt with shoulder epaulettes, secured by square silver buttons embossed with the school crest.[2] The uniform for female students is similar, except that there are no pockets on the blouse and they have a pleated A-line skirt with option of shorts underneath.[2] The main colour of the school uniform is grey[14] – a colour chosen for its similarity to the color white, which is one of the official colors of the school. Consequently, the colour grey, rather than white, was chosen for the uniform to remind students of the college of their duty to serve the Nation with honour, and the need to be humble and respectful of others irrespective of their educational background. For both male and female, the shirt must be tucked in.
On Wednesdays, which are known as 'Inquiry Days', NJCians can wear the college's white polo T-shirt instead of their greys.
On Thursdays, it is House Tee Day, where every member of NJC may don on their house tee, instead of the full uniform.
For PE classes, NJCians wear white PE attire with red trims on its sleeves and bright red shorts. For religious purposes, black, long pants can be accepted in replacement of the red shorts.
For most formal events, NJCians wear their red College blazer together with white shirts, red College ties, grey pants or skirts and black leather or court shoes. On some formal occasions, instead of donning blazers, NJCians simply wear their red tie along with their full-grey uniform.
College anthem and song[]
There are two official college songs – the College Anthem and a College Song, entitled "The National Dream".[15] The College Anthem was composed by Mr. Leong Yoon Pin,[15] a renowned Singaporean composer whose works include the opera Bunga Mawar and the concert overture Dayong Sampan.[16] The College Anthem is written in Malay, the Republic of Singapore's official national language.[15]
House System[]
The house system at National Junior College was established in 1998, replacing the previous Department system.[3] Through this system, students from the arts and science streams get to bond together through inter-college house competition and activities.[3] The six houses of the college and their respective mascots are as follows:
| House | Color | Mascot |
|---|---|---|
| Aerius | Purple | Falcon |
| Aqua | Blue | Orca |
| Ignis | Red | Phoenix |
| Lignum | Orange | Beaver |
| Solaris | Yellow | Lion |
| Terra | Green | Gazelle |
Extracurricular Activities[]
Student Council[]
Under the Student Council is the Senior Council, consisting of Student Representatives who are elected by the student body from a group of council elects which must first be approved by teachers in April and will hold office for a year. The Senior Council is run by the Executive Committee elected by the council members except the President and Vice-President, who are elected by the Junior High 1 to Senior High 2 population. This committee comprises the President, Vice-President, Honorary Secretary for Internal Affairs, Honorary Secretary for External Affairs, Honorary Treasurer, four Heads of Committees and six House Captains.
The five standing committees are:
- CORE ExCo (CORE)
- Creative and Publicity Unit (CPU)
- Feedback Unit (FBU)
- House Activities Team (HAT)
- Student Welfare Action Team (SWAT)
A junior wing of the student council was established in 2010 to represent the Junior High 1 to 3 students. The Junior Council is made up of 24 Student Representatives selected by teachers. The Junior Council and Senior Council are autonomous bodies working hand-in-hand under the ambit of the Student Council. Other than the Executive Committee (whose President is elected by the Secondary 1 to 3 cohort), there are 4 Standing Committees. (SWAT(I) and SWAT(F) were previously considered under the major committee SWAT, but have, since 2011, become 2 different committees)
- CORE ExCO (CORE)
- Council Affairs, Resources and Engagement (CARE) team
- Publicity And INspiration Team (PAINT)
- Student Welfare Action Team (Feedback) (SWAT(F))
- Student Welfare Action Team (Initiative) (SWAT(I))
Co-Curriculum Activities[]
National Junior College provides its students with a wide range of co-curriculum activities. Sports and Games include Aikido, cricket (boys), football, table tennis, badminton, floorball, shooting, tennis, basketball, hockey, softball, touch rugby (girls), canoeing & dragonboating, netball, squash, Track & Field/cross country. There are also performing arts such as Chinese orchestra/Guzheng ensemble, piano ensemble, choir, string orchestra, guitar ensemble, symphonic band and dance groups(Chinese, Malay, Indian, Western). Students can also participate in various clubs and societies such as aesthetics clubs (DV Club, Photography Club and Art Club), Literary, Debating & Dramatic Societies (English, Chinese, Malay, Tamil), Mathematics Society, IT & Innovation Club, Outdoor Activities Club, Interact Club and Science & Technology Club.
Notable alumni[]
- Main article: List of National Junior College people
See also[]
- Education in Singapore
References[]
External links[]
- Official Website
- NJC Alumni
- Virtual Tour of NJC campus
- National Junior College on School Information System
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